Canine Cupid
by neriine
Summary: Makkachin had always known she'd be a fantastic matchmaker. With Victor's and Yuuri's wedding fast approaching, she gets the opportunity to finally flex her matchmaking muscles. (And get lots of pats). (SeungChuChu main, bg Victuuri, Leoji, Emil/Michele, and JJ/Isabella) [Originally posted on AO3 14/2/17]
1. Chapter 1

Written as a gift for the Yuri! On Ice Secret Valentines 2017! Details (and the giftee!) can be found on my AO3 (link in profile)

* * *

 _1_

Makkachin had always known she'd be a fantastic matchmaker. Whenever her Victor put on romantic movies with dogs in she made mental notes on all the ways a dog could help their owner meet The One. Honestly, she'd been somewhat put out that Victor had found his Yuuri without even letting her trip them up by tangling her leash around their legs, or 'accidentally' pushing them into a duck pond.

Well. She'd pushed Yuuri over the first time they'd met anyway, after months of watching Victor dancing aimlessly around his room and tacking the few posters of Yuuri he could find up inside his wardrobe. So the timings had been a little out of order. She hadn't played a part in their meet-cute. Whatever. It still counted. She was a _great_ matchmaker.

(The less said about those dangerously tantalising steamed buns the better.)

With the arrival of Victor and Yuuri's wedding, though, she saw new opportunities to test her love guru mettle. Though she'd been stuck at Yuuri's for most of that fateful Grand Prix – and since, because the Russian skaters were terrible at looking after her during skating season- , the emotions of ice skaters were always easy for her to read. None of them were as emotional as her Victor. She knew what to look for.

The wedding should have been small. When they'd started planning, all the guests could have stayed in Hasetsu comfortably, with room to spare. Neither Victor nor Yuuri had intended for Victor's many aunts to find out. Luckily, they'd mostly booked themselves in to the closest hotel, after hours and hours of Victor shouting himself hoarse over the phone.  
Makkachin had only met one or two of Victor's aunts. They scared her. Their perfume made her sneeze. And they fussed her too much! No, Makkachin liked the other skaters far more than Victor's extended family.

The first guests arrived with a cheery pattern of knocks at the door.

'Phichit!' Yuuri burst into the hallway, skidding in his socks as he raced to the door. 'You're here!'

Phichit flung his arms around Yuuri, rocking forward on his toes as he greeted his friend.

'Couldn't let you panic about your impending nuptials on your own, could I?' He let Yuuri go and smiled at him. Makkachin took the opportunity to greet Phichit as well by sticking her face in his crotch. '-Hey!' Phichit pushed her away and gave her a scratch behind the ears. Mm. That was a good spot.

'I'm glad you're here, Phichit. It's been so hectic these past few weeks.' Yuuri pushed his glasses back up his nose.

'I'm ready to help!' Phichit stepped to one side and gestured with a flourish. 'And I brought backup!'

Flustered, Guang-Hong was inching through the doorway, desperately trying to wrestle his luggage back from an overeager Leo.

'Yuuri! It's good to – look, you really don't have to carry that – see you again!' Guang-Hong's attention was split between greeting his host and prising Leo's fingers off his bag one by one.

'Congratulations, Yuuri.' Leo smiled. '- you carried everything all the way here. Let me take this!'

Makkachin cocked her head. Interesting.

'Are those guests, Yuuri? Send them my way and I'll show them their rooms,' Mari called, poking her head out from down the hall, 'If you'll take over on dusting with Victor here.'

Phichit rearranged his bags and set off cheerily down the hall, Guang-Hong and Leo still fighting over luggage as they trailed behind him. Makkachin waited with Yuuri. She wanted to go and find out more about the other skaters – and dusting made her sneeze – but Yuuri was her new second master. And she loved him.

'Go on then, Makkachin.' Yuuri scratched her neck. 'I don't think you'll want to be underfoot while we're cleaning.'

The rest of the day was full of excitement. She spent a lovely fifteen minutes in Guang-Hong and Leo's rooms, trying to mix up clothes and the like to create the perfect excuse for them to talk to each other, but after Leo tripped over her and went crashing down (luckily onto his bed) she was ushered out and both doors slammed. She made sure to nose the key to the door that went between their adjoining rooms through the gap beneath Guang-Hong's door before she left, though.

Yurio was next to arrive, still drowsy from his flight. He shoved her away as soon as he walked through the door, and immediately retired to his room. Hiroko had kept it set up for him since his last visit, and sometimes Makkachin liked to sneak in and sleep there, too. It smelt like him. Though she knew Yurio needed no protection, he still smelt like something that needed protecting. Like a kitten. He usually put up with her snuggles.

He seemed more sad than usual. Makkachin resolved to take a break from her superb matchmaking mission to get to the bottom of that mystery.

JJ, too, seemed sober in comparison to the past times Makkachin had met him. He always annoyed her greatly, with his arrogance and overly-familiar manner. But… somehow, it seemed wrong that he wasn't energetic. He greeted Victor with a tight smile, his back rigid. His fiancée looked equally unhappy. The conversations between them – that Makkachin had heard before Isabella gently pushed her out of their room and shut the door – were stilted. Not aggressive, but somehow wrong. She'd actually whined and scratched at their door to let her back in, determined to at least offer a fluffy and warm pillow to those in need, but her cries went ignored and she had to stop before she gouged the wooden door.

Michele and Sara had somehow met Emil at the airport, much to the ire of the former. By the time they'd arrived at Hasetsu, Michele had convinced himself that Emil was trying to make a move on Sara again, and it was _his_ job to stop it from happening. The chaos kept everyone busy all evening.

Everyone but Phichit had gone to bed. He was sitting in one of the downstairs rooms, wrapped in a blanket, going through his emails. Makkachin was curled drowsily around him, growling softly whenever he shifted. She liked Phichit. He was warm, and kind, and matched her in energy whenever she had a mad moment. Watching Phichit smile at his phone, Makkachin felt thankful that her Victor had gone on this amazing adventure. He – and therefore she, too– had gained so many new friends. That gave her treats. And pats. And snuggles. They knew how to treat a fine lady like Makkachin far better than Georgi ever had. (She had learnt that lesson the hard way after investigating a box of chocolates Georgi had flung to the ground in despair after finally breaking up with one of his terrible girlfriends.)

She was broken from her thoughts by a firm knock at the door. Phichit – who had been slowly drifting off to sleep – lurched up, dropping his phone in surprise.

'I suppose I should answer that, then.' Phichit whispered to Makkachin. 'Will you guard me, girl?'

Makkachin huffed a yes, licking Phichit's hand. She padded beside Phichit to the front door.

She barely recognised the haggard figure on the other side, clothes rumpled and hair at all angles.

'Seung-Gil?' Phichit beamed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. 'I didn't know you were arriving today!' Seung-Gil shrugged, his bags sliding down his arms.

'My flight was delayed. I should have been here hours ago.' He pushed past Phichit into the hallway. Makkachin watched him appraisingly. He smelt like a friend, but he treated people so coldly.

'You…you must be tired! I don't know Hasetsu well, but I can show you to your room! I was helping Yuuri arrange everything this morning~'

'That would be helpful.' One of Seung-Gil's bags slid further down his arm. Phichit leapt to help.

'I'll get that!'

He carried on chattering to little response as they made their way to the guest rooms. Makkachin followed behind, keeping an eye on the curious newcomer. She wasn't sure if he'd actually noticed her at all.

'-and that quad loop! I know it's your signature move, but damn! You're so slick on the ice…' Seung-Gil listened to Phichit quietly, dark eyes heavy with fatigue.

'Hey, you should really get some sleep.' Phichit carefully put the bag he was carrying on the floor, and took Seung-Gil's other bags to do the same. 'If you want, I can show you around tomorrow?'

Makkachin wouldn't have been able to say no to Phichit's pleading eyes.

'…Mhm.' Seung-Gil nodded once, then turned away from Phichit in an obvious dismissal.

'I'll see you tomorrow, then! For breakfast!' Phichit patted Makkachin on her head, then left the room, leaving the door open a crack so Makkachin could nose her way out.

She hopped up onto Seung-Gil's bed, watching his muted double-take amusedly as he finally realised she was in the room. He immediately reached out to scratch behind her ears.

'You're beautiful, aren't you?' Seung-Gil sighed, letting his fingers drag through her fur.

He carried on unpacking in silence. Makkachin had almost dozed off by the time he finally crawled under the covers.

'…' There was a pregnant pause. Seung-Gil took breath to say something, then thought better of it.

'He's so… friendly.' He curled into a ball beneath the covers. 'His on-ice persona seems so much like his real one.' He reached out again to pet Makkachin. 'What do you think of him? Is he as nice as he looks from his skating?'

* * *

As this work was a gift, it's fully up on my AO3 already. I've just never had the experience of spacing out chapter postings before and I'm excited to finally have a go at it! There are only five chapters and this will most likely update daily :)


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for your reviews! ( ^ u ^ )

* * *

 _2_

Her Yuuri was so bad at getting up in the mornings. It took the team effort of Makkachin and her Victor to drag him, still semi-conscious, from bed. Once Yuuri was upright (and being showered in kisses by her Victor), Makkachin left to rouse everyone else.

Most of the guests had their doors wedged open, calling to each other as they dressed and brushed their teeth. Sara sat cross-legged in the hall, a trashy sci-fi novel with an abused spine in her hands. Makkachin rolled over onto her back next to her. Sara absently rubbed Makkachin's tummy as she read.

' _Emil_! What are you doing in here?!' Michele's screech sounded a little muted through the thin crack of the door that Emil had opened.

'Sara told me you misplaced your comb! Do you want to borrow mine? I'm happy to share!' Emil smiled, pushing the comb through the crack in the door.

'I – thank you.' Michele sounded momentarily mollified. 'You – hey! Wait! What are you doing talking to Sara! You'd better keep your hands to yourself!'

Emil took a few steps back from the door and shook his head.

'You wouldn't believe it, but he has been getting better. You _really_ must set him off, Emil.' Sara smiled at Emil, still half-engrossed in her book.

Emil sighed.

'I'm not trying to!'

' _I_ know that. But Mickey's always been too stubbornly set in his ideas to admit he might be wrong.' Sara winked. 'You'll have to be persuasive.'

Emil blushed, stuttering.

'That's – that's not what I-'

'Don't hurt his feelings, Emil.' Sara gracefully uncrossed her legs, gave Makkachin a parting scratch, then returned to her room and closed the door. Emil stood quietly for a second, dumbfounded. He gazed down at Makkachin, then crouched beside her.

'Am I that obvious, girl?'

Makkachin barked in response. _Yes_ , she wished she could shout. _Yes, anyone watching you two when you compete against each other can tell_. But she couldn't.

Emil sighed again and turned to leave, nearly knocking Guang-Hong and Phichit over in one movement.

'Ah!' Emil stumbled backwards. 'Sorry!'

Phichit reached to steady Guang-Hong.

'Are you okay, Emil?' He patted the Czech man on the shoulder.

'I'm fine! I – Guang-Hong, are _you_ okay? You're looking really flushed. You don't have a fever, do you?'

Phichit sighed.

'He's been like this all morning and he won't tell me why!'

'I will tell you! It's just… people can hear, here.'

Emil's brows rose.

'You can use my room to talk, if you want.' Guang-Hong nodded, and the three retreated into Emil's room, closing the door before Makkachin could sneak in. She pressed herself against it, straining to hear what was going on.

'…and that's where I woke up! We must have fallen asleep talking. I was _so_ embarrassed! I sneaked out without waking him up but now I can't look at him without remembering how embarrassing it was!' Guang-Hong wailed.

'Why should you be embarrassed? You two are so close!' Phichit replied. Guang-Hong just whined in shame.

'Hey! There's no need to be upset!' Emil was trying to lighten the mood. Makkachin nodded to herself. He was good at cheering people. 'If you think _that's_ embarrassing, you obviously don't remember the time my costume split on the ice! I thought I could get away with a cheaper make than usual, since I wasn't really slated to win.' The room was silent for a second. Makkachin could imagine Emil pausing, and shaking his head. 'I _really didn't_ get away with it.'

Guang-Hong giggled.

Makkachin just made it back to her original spot when the door reopened. Phichit waved to the other two and made to leave them. 'I promised Seung-Gil I'd eat breakfast with him, and if I don't wake him up he'll miss everything exciting!'

Makkachin followed him down the hall as he made to knock gently on Seung-Gil's door. He opened it, fully dressed, looking a great deal more put-together than he had the night before.

'Seung-Gil! Are you ready for breakfast?'

'...I ate already.'

'O-oh. Okay! If you wait a couple of minutes, I'll grab something quick and then I'll show you around, okay?' Phichit dashed off, leaving Makkachin to stare questioningly at Seung-Gil. He rested his forehead against the doorframe, eyebrows pulled into a frown.

' _Forgetful_.' He muttered, his fist clenching. As quickly as the emotion came over him, though, it disappeared, and he knelt down to greet Makkachin properly. Seung-Gil, she had decided, was terrible with people, but he sure knew how to treat a dog _right._

Before Phichit could get back, though, Makkachin's luxurious scritches were interrupted by explosive shouting from the next room over, followed by Isabella fleeing the room, sobbing.

The noise made Makkachin jump, and she felt Seung-Gil freeze.

Duty called, though she wished she could have enjoyed herself a little longer, at least. She slunk into JJ's room, knocking the door shut with her head.

He was curled up on the pillows of his bed. Makkachin steeled herself, then hopped up onto JJ's bed and rested her head in his lap.

'Hey there.' JJ sounded a lot quieter than he did in public. He buried his hands in Makkachin's fur. 'You come to cheer me up?' She huffed. JJ was silent for a moment.

'D'you think it's bad that I don't believe what Isabella and my parents say? They keep telling me they'll support me no matter what happens. But I keep letting them down. Surely they'll have had enough soon?' JJ bit his lip, his chin wobbling. 'I promised Isabella I'd marry her once I got the gold at the Grand Prix Final, but I _still_ haven't done it. She gets angry whenever I bring it up, but – I can't help thinking. Who'd stay with- a failure –' He hugged his knees and wept. Makkachin leant against him, a comforting warmth. Her curly fur was perfect for absorbing tears.

When he'd cried himself dry, JJ sat up and stretched. 'What do I do now? Maybe I should call it quits.' Makkachin growled. Running away from his problems wouldn't fix them. '…okay. Uh. Should I work harder?' She growled again. Driving himself harder against the brick wall in front of him wouldn't work, either. 'Um. I don't know what to do, then. If I don't give up and I don't work harder, how can I get where I want to be…?'

He chewed on his lip, silent for a long time.

'I could… change my skating themes. Show her the inspiration her unconditional love has given me. And-' He suddenly had a crazed grin, a wild idea occurring to him. '-I could ask her to marry me at the end of the season no matter _what_!' Makkachin thumped her tail, and licked his face. Salty. 'You're a scary good therapist, Makkawhatsit.' He scratched her behind her ears. Good boy.

'Right!' He leapt from the bed. 'I need to go and find Isabella _right now_.'

'Yu-ri-o~! Otabek's here!' Victor's voice echoed through the house, startling Makkachin. She bolted down the stairs, shadowed by Yurio. Otabek looked well-travelled, his hair windswept and his scarf askew.

'…Took you long enough.' Yurio mumbled, playing with the hem of his shirt. Otabek gave him a solemn wave, which Yurio returned.

'-Anyway!' Victor clapped his hands together. 'Yurio knows where your room is, so you can go and get settled.' Otabek nodded at him, then approached Yurio on the stairs.

Yurio seemed mechanical in his movements as he led Otabek to his room. Makkachin brushed against his legs as he walked, even though he kept nudging her away.

'Good journey?' Yurio sat down on Otabek's bed.

'It was okay. Have you been alright here?' Yurio nodded, looking pensive.

'There are so many chores to get done before the wedding, though. It would be nice to get out of Hasetsu at some point.'

Otabek stared out of his window for a moment.

'Maybe we could sneak out one afternoon,' He suggested, raising his eyebrows at Yurio, 'If you know somewhere to go…?'

'Have you ever been round the markets here?' Yurio perked up, eyes wide. 'They're _really_ interesting! Maybe we could-'

'Yurio!' Yurio poked his head out of Otabek's doorway.

'Yuuko?!'

'Yurio, can you come and help me, please? I can't untangle all these garlands by myself and there's no one else to help me.' Yurio sighed.

'Can't you get your mini-hags to do it?!' He yelled back.

'They're out with Takeshi buying supplies for tonight!'

Yurio sighed, glancing back at Otabek.

'I'll be down in a minute!'

'I can come down and help, too, Yuri.'

'No. You need to unpack your stuff.' Yurio nodded a goodbye. 'I'll see you later.'

One of Makkachin's toys had been misbehaving, so she was just taking it to the garden to give it a good shredding, when she realised there were others in the garden, too. Phichit sat, animatedly explaining something to a classically stoic-looking Seung-Gil, alternating between sentences and bites of a snack. The longer she watched, the more she realised that although Seung-Gil looked like he was completely disinterested, he was nodding along to everything Phichit said.

* * *

Today I walked a 9 mile round trip to a shopping precinct because I didn't want to spend £4 on a bus ticket. It was really nice! Spring's finally here and the air smells so fragrant ( ^ u ^ )


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

It was time to sort this out. Guang-Hong and Leo could not be allowed to stumble around each other any more. Makkachin had a plan to fix it all – by having them stumble _into_ each other.

It took some planning. Getting Leo and Guang-Hong to walk together after the 'same bed' fiasco of yesterday was harder than Makkachin thought it would. Eventually, though, she found them. They were returning from a two-man carrying job. They weren't talking.

Okay.

The plan was ready.

She was ready.

Here it went.

She took a run-up from round the corner of the hall, and bolted towards them. She purposefully knocked into Leo, causing him to overbalance and sending Guang-Hong flying to his rescue. She skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway, and turned back to see them both winded on the floor, nose-to-nose with each other. As they started to tilt their faces to meet, she trotted away and let them have their privacy – and right into Christophe and his boyfriend, arms laden with bags.

Christophe peered down the hallway, then grinned at Makkachin.

'You are a _clever_ dog. I approve.' He reached down to pet her, and she sneezed. He smelt strongly of cat. Chris was a good friend of her Victor, and he always gave her the good treats. But he seemed too aware of her intelligence, and that would ruin her plans.  
She bolted, leaving Chris' cries of 'Hey! Come back!' far behind her.

There. Sitting in the same spot they were yesterday. Makkachin silently sneaked over and hid near Seung-Gil and Phichit's bench. Chris wouldn't find her here.

'I've known Yuuri a really long time, you know.' Phichit was speaking to Seung-Gil quietly, their conversation more private than those Phichit usually engaged in. 'He's really… blossomed since he met Victor. He talks more, and he lets people touch him now. And he's learnt to like hugs!'

'He hugged me, once. In Moscow.' Phichit laughed.

'I heard about that! I should have been there!' Phichit made a show of flexing his arms. 'I give the _best_ hugs.'

'Mhm.'

'What? You don't believe me?' Phichit spread his arms before Seung-Gil.

'I'll take your word for it.'

'Okay! Remember, my arms are _always_ open for business~' He gave a comical wink. Makkachin caught a glimpse of the corners of Seung-Gil's mouth turning up. Just a little. 'A smile! The rare and elusive Lee Seung-Gil smile! Had I caught it on camera, I'd have made internet fame!'

'Like you haven't already. How many followers do you have again?'

'About 5000 or so? And you're one to talk! You only post photos of your dog and still have nearly as many followers as me!'

'He's got fans.'

'Well, he _is_ really cute.' Phichit smiled softly, but then stretched into a grin again. 'You know what they say about dogs resembling their owners!'

'Huh?'

'-Anyway, do you miss your dog? Why isn't he here?'

Seung-Gil sighed.

'He's in kennels. It's a short trip, yes, but I don't trust planes. He'll be fine.' Phichit laid his hand on Seung-Gil's arm.

'I bet he gets showered in love whenever you come home, right? I know I spoilt my hamsters rotten whenever I had to go away from Detroit for a time!'

'Yeah. He likes those fancy cuts of beef, and he knows he gets them when I come home. Last time he got so excited he knocked me over.' Makkachin decided she wanted to meet the dog that just talking about got Seung-Gil so animated. And also try that glorious-sounding beef. 'And once, he got into my costumes. By the time I realised, there were spangles all over the floor.'

'Oh! Was that one your senior debut costume? The one with all the beaded fringes?' Seung-Gil frowned.

'…Yes, it was.' He cocked his head. 'How do you know that?'

Phichit blushed a little.

'Your skating style interests me. The precision with which you skate is so intense!' Phichit ducked his head. 'Actually, that costume inspired my last free skate costume a little.'

'The one you skated to the main theme of 'The King and the Skater 3' in?' Phichit nodded excitedly.

'You've heard of 'The King and the Skater'? And watched some of the sequels?'

Seung-Gil chewed his lip and stared into the distance, steadfastly avoiding eye contact.

'…you've based so many of your routines off those movies. I wanted to know what your inspiration was.'

'And? Did you find out?'

'No. I just ended up watching some _terrible_ movies.' Phichit laughed.

'They're a bit messy plotwise, yeah. But- it's not what's in the movies that inspires me. It's what they represent _themselves_. Thailand isn't really into ice-skating. Those movies represent my hope that Thailand – like the King in the movies – can learn to love ice-skating just like I do!' Phichit looked over at Seung-Gil and smiled. If Makkachin had blinked, she'd have missed the shy smile Seung-Gil shot back.

Makkachin sneaked back out of the garden. Surely Christophe would have given up by now. As she peeked around the corner of the hallway, she was swept aside by Yurio, storming dramatically to his room. She raced to follow him.

By the time she got to his room, he was face down on his bed, hands clenched in his pillow. She jumped up to him and huffed in his ear.

He rolled to let her rest beside him.

'Beka needed to go and get some more clothes, and I was going to go with him, but I lost track of the _fucking_ time beating out those mattresses, and by the time I realised, he'd left!' Yurio punched his pillow. 'I – I just-'

Makkachin licked his cheek.

'I just want to do _friend_ stuff, you know? Like they do in all the movies. Yeah, we talk on skype a lot, but I want to do real friend stuff too. Go to the movies. Buy clothes. Go around museums. That kind of thing.' He buried his face in his pillow, so his words were hard to hear. ' 've never had a real friend b'fore' He sighed, throwing the pillow at his door. 'Maybe I should skip out on the wedding and we could go hang out instead.'

No. Makkachin gently bit his hand. No, Yurio was coming to the wedding. He was family, too.

'Ow! Okay, you've made your point, hellhound. We don't have to hang around for the dancing, though, do we? We could – we could go find a beach and do stupid things there! Or something. Hijack a car. Spraypaint something. Hang out with the stray cats.' Why did Yurio want to find stray cats when there was a perfectly good dog right here waiting to be _pet_? She pushed her head into Yurio's hand.

'Demanding.' He pet her anyway.

'Yu-ri~' JJ slid the door open with his toe. 'I need your opinion!'

'Ugh. Go away, bastard.' Yurio set about petting Makkachin again with ferocity.

Instead of leaving, JJ entered the room and began posing.

'Yuri! Is this outfit _sexy_ enough to make Isabella fall in love with me all over again? I thought I'd better ask someone of a more… _feminine_ persuasion~'

With devastating accuracy, Yurio lobbed a pillow at his head. The thunk his skull made as it came in contact with the wall felt triumphant.

'I don't know, I don't _care_ , and Sara is literally next door to you! Stop bothering me with your shitty jokes and fuck off!'

JJ just laughed, and addressed Makkachin.

'What do you think, girl? I'm planning on hijacking the wedding speech to declare my undying love for my darling Isabella!' Makkachin huffed, and stood up on the bed. They were almost eye to eye like this. She leant in close, and sneezed in his face.

'Eurgh! Makka _whatsit_! Nasty!' JJ fled the room.

'Good job, Makkachin.' Yurio gave her the good pats. Her plan to train up a generation of skating minions who all knew where to pat was turning out well.

Later on, she came upon Sara checking her lipstick in the hall mirror.

'Mila! Are you nearly ready?' She called, and received an answering clatter of heels and a bout of impassioned Russian swearing. She laughed.

'It's been a long time since anyone invited me on a girl's night,' Mari approached from the other direction, running a hand through her half-bleached hair. 'I know Minako is excited, too.' Sara smiled, and offered Mari her lipstick. 'Nah, thanks though. I always end up smudging it all over if I try.'

'I'm looking forward to seeing around Hasetsu! Especially Minako's bar. There's only so much wine and champagne a girl can drink, you know?'

'We Katsukis aren't the best at holding our liquor. I try and avoid it when I can.'

Sara laughed. 'I remember!'

Mila finally appeared, heels slung around her neck, flats firmly on her feet.

'Sorry. Couldn't find my pumps.'

'Are we ready to go, then? I need to tell Mickey I'm off.' Sara turned on her heel and called up the stairs.

'Mi-ckey! We're going now!'

Makkachin heard the frantic pounding of steps before Michele burst onto the stairs.

'Be careful out there! You have my number, right? You know you can call me at any time and I'll come get you.'

Emil sauntered up behind him and slung an arm around his shoulders. 'What are you doing here, pervert? Sara's going on a _girl's night out_. You're not invited.'

'Of course I'm not!' Emil shot a lazy salute in Sara's direction. 'I want to keep _you_ company.'

'O-oh.'

Emil pushed off Michele's shoulder, and started walking back down the hall.

'I've got a load of movies, if you want to watch later…'

'Y-yeah… okay…' Michele looked a little shell-shocked. 'Wait, what?!'

'Look what I found!' Yuuri called from the garden. He showed his bounty to his assembled guests. 'Sparklers!'

Victor grinned happily.

'Were they left over from that time down at the beach? That was so much fun!'

'I don't think so! These look like they've been here ages.'

Some of them were squibs, but the ones that did light up were bright in a variety of colours.

Victor went first, a safe distance from everyone else and Makkachin. His lit up a bright purple, and he cheerfully traced out 'Y + V' in a sparking heart, to the cheers and whoops of everyone gathered. As the sparkler went out, Yuuri snagged him in for a kiss.

Phichit was the next to grab and light a sparkler. It shot pink sparks everywhere, and lit his face up in a rosy glow. From her spot under the table, Makkachin watched Seung-Gil stare at Phichit with a fond look on his face. His eyes followed Phichit as he danced gracefully around the garden, an energetic sprite with a bright tail. Even Makkachin thought he looked beautiful. As Phichit's sparkler petered out – and Michele lit up a new one – Makkachin saw Seung-Gil's face contort from softness to sheer horror. She watched him stiffen, and squeeze his hands into fists. A part of her wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but the sparks stopped her.  
Later, she came to his room to lean against him before he went to sleep, but he was sitting bolt upright, his jaw clenched. He didn't hurt her with his petting, but it was a close thing. More than once she let out a pitiful whine when his fingers tightened in her fur.

'It's _not_ happening,' Seung-Gil had his eyes screwed shut. 'It's _not_.' Makkachin whined again, licking his face. 'It's _not_ …'

* * *

Mmmmm I just love shouting into the void...


	4. Chapter 4

_4_

'Yuuri! Yuuri! Wake up!' Victor bounced excitedly on their bed, waking Makkachin up, too. 'It's _tomorrow_! We're getting married tomorrow!' Yuuri groaned and rolled over, still wrapped in blankets, his face barely visible. Victor leant over ungracefully and tried to kiss him on the nose, lost his balance, and elbowed him in the gut.

'Agh! Victor!' Yuuri fumbled for his glasses, hindered by Victor trying to apologise and kiss away the new red mark blotching his stomach.

He was like it all morning.

'It's certainly Weddingmas Eve,' Chris quipped. JJ snorted his water out of his nose.

Seung-Gil was noticeably quieter. All day he sat with his shoulders hunched, followed every request asked of him robotically without even a hint of acknowledgement, and avoided Phichit's gaze whenever they were in a room together.

It was even more obvious compared to everyone else around the place. Leo and Guang-Hong kept accidentally brushing hands and giggling, which was sweet the first ten times but increasingly grating after that. Even Makkachin had to leave the room after watching them eskimo kiss for the seventieth time.

Michele kept stealing glances at Emil when he thought the other wasn't looking.

Makkachin saw them speaking quietly from a distance – and meant to sneak over, to find out what was happening, but was interrupted when she saw Phichit striding over to Seung-Gil.

'We need to talk.'

Seung-Gil stood up, and walked upstairs. Phichit followed, and Makkachin crept quietly behind.

'Why are you suddenly ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?'

'No.'

'Then why are you acting like we don't know each other?'

'M'not.'

'Wh- Seung-Gil, don't mistake me for a fool. If I offended you, please let me know what I did!'

'You didn't.'

'Well, I must have done _something_!'

'No! You-'

 _'Please_ , Seung-Gil, I don't want to-'

'You _DIDN'T_!' Seung-Gil shouted, breathing heavily. Phichit stopped, looking confused, and hurt. 'You-you didn't. It's me. It's all me. I- You shouldn't come near me. I was _fine_ on my own before you came along. I was _fine_ with being alone. But- now-' Seung-Gil clamped a hand over his mouth, hot tears spilling over his hand.

'Seung-Gil…'

'Leave me alone, Phichit.' He'd gone stiff again.

'Seung-Gil, _please_ , don't do this.' Phichit was frustratedly swiping at his own eyes, now. 'Is it moving too fast? Do you want to slow down? I thought we-'

' _No_.' Seung-Gil was trying to turn his back on Phichit, but was stopped by Phichit's hand on his shoulder. He took a deep, shuddering breath. 'Leave me _alone_.' He shoved Phichit's hand off his shoulder, stalked into his room, and locked the door behind him.

Phichit just. Stood there. He was staring at his hands as though they would fix something, as though he still held Seung-Gil in them. Makkachin whined, and moved to comfort him.

'Hey, Makkachin…' Her Victor! He'd know how to fix this. She went to pull at his trousers, to get his attention, to _fix it_ , but then she saw the look on his face. It seemed as though Phichit and Seung-Gil would have to wait. She brushed past Phichit's leg as she hurried after her Victor, determined to know why her master looked so upset.

Her fur was getting wet.

'Oh Makkachin…' Victor punctuated his words with a wet sniff. 'I don't know what to do. I can't do this! He's so- he's so perfect, and him, and I'm me. H-he deserves someone perfect, and I'm… It's _tomorrow_! What if he realises he _hates me-e-e_ -' His voice broke into gasping sobs, which he muffled into Makkachin's fur. She turned, and tried to lick his face. He was being silly, of course. Yuuri wouldn't settle for anyone other than her Victor, and when her Victor was being sensible he knew that too. She remembered the last time this had happened, when she and Victor had first arrived at Hasetsu. When Yuuri had barricaded himself in his room, Victor had been silly and assumed Yuuri didn't like him. He'd cried quietly, clinging to Makkachin like a life raft. She knew what she'd had to do then, just like she knew what to do now. Crying tired Victor out, and after a good sleep he usually wasn't silly any more. She settled around him like a pillow, her face near his so she could give him more kisses. She knew he'd be all better in the morning.

She just wished everything else would be, too.

* * *

:)


	5. Chapter 5

_5_

As she knew would be the case, Victor had recovered by the morning. Overnight, Yuuri had crept back into their bed and they woke up face-to-face with each other. When Makkachin saw the adoration light up Yuuri's face, she knew Victor would be okay.

She hopped off their bed and left them to it. Weddings were a big deal.  
Most of Makkachin's morning was spent trying to help as best she could – moving shoes to the right rooms, nudging out ties from beneath piles of dirty clothes, and the like. She almost missed Phichit slipping into Seung-Gil's room.  
Almost.  
She slipped in behind him and jumped on the bed, rousing Seung-Gil.  
He sat up, his hair a mess, blearily rubbing sleep from his eyes.  
'Seung-Gil.' Phichit looked unwell. He had dark circles under his eyes and there was a muscle in his jaw twitching.  
'…Phichit?'  
'You can't run away from this, you know. You can't just avoid me at every competition we enter from now on. I'm not going to put my life on hold while you work around your hangups, Seung-Gil.' Phichit massaged his temples.  
'I…' Seung-Gil seemed less defensive, having just woken up. 'You…'  
'So you can either spit it out, or we can stand here all morning. Why do you suddenly hate me?'  
Seung-Gil reached to take a sip from the cup of water by his bedside. Makkachin saw how badly his hands were trembling. She nuzzled closer to him.  
'I…'  
'Well?' Makkachin blinked at Phichit. She noted never to get on his bad side. He was quite scary when annoyed.  
Seung-Gil carefully pulled Makkachin onto his lap and began gently untangling her curls with his fingers.  
'I… don't… hate you. ' Seung-Gil wasn't making eye contact, his face dropping lower and lower until his nose almost brushed Makkachin's fur. 'Actually, I… I, um. I like you.' He was mumbling into Makkachin's fur, his words mostly vibration against her skin.  
'What? I can't hear you.'  
'I… likeyou.' Seung-Gil looked as though he was trying to burrow underneath Makkachin and hide completely.  
Phichit let out a dramatic groan and flung himself into the desk chair. He pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.  
'I thought you hated me! I've been up all night trying to work out what I did to upset you!' When Phichit looked up, his eyes were full of tears. 'I thought you must've had a traumatic experience with sparklers or something!'  
Seung-Gil let out a short, wet, laugh.  
'But you- why did you react so badly because you like me?'  
Seung-Gil shook his head.  
'I've not- I've never really… felt like that before.' He hid his face in Makkachin's fur again. She once more thanked her makers for her tear-absorbent curls. Phichit swung himself out of the chair and put his arm around Seung-Gil.  
'It's okay, you know? I wasn't going to push you. I meant what I said about going slow.' Seung-Gil shook his head.  
'I-no. That's not the problem.' He looked Phichit straight in the eyes. 'I don't want to go slow.'  
Phichit burst out laughing, and pressed his forehead against Seung-Gil's. They leant in close, their noses brushing, before-  
'Fifteen minutes, folks! You need to get a shift on!' Mari was banging on the stairs. A cacophony of movement erupted with her announcement.  
'Shit!' Seung-Gil leapt out of bed and into the bathroom, dragging his suit hanger with him.  
He emerged seven minutes later, his hair still a mess and his buttons done up wrong. Phichit grabbed his comb and handed it to Seung-Gil.  
'You get the hair, I'll do the buttons.'  
'Buttons?'  
'You've-' Phichit gestured down his front.  
'Shit.'

Fifteen minutes after Mari's announcement, the front hallway was full of guests. Emil was still struggling to wedge on his shoes, and Mila was fixing her hair in the nearest reflective surface, bobby pins hanging out of her mouth. Seung-Gil was back to his regular, stoic self, but even from where Makkachin was standing by Mari she was sure they were brushing fingers.

The wedding proper passed by in a blur. Makkachin had the important job of carrying the rings, but other than that she could only remember the look of joy on her Victor's face as he was finally pronounced married. In the car back to Hasetsu for the reception, she snuggled happily on her masters' laps, properly covering them in fur. So that everyone knew who was in this family.

She made a point to immediately tackle Yurio in the same manner at the reception.  
She'd had to do it quickly – after spending a good ten minutes staring in wonder at all Victor's aunts in their aggressively co-ordinated leopard-print outfits, Yurio followed through on his plans to leave when the dancing started, shadowed by Otabek. As she watched them leave, she hoped Yurio would find the board games she'd pulled out of the closet and stacked haphazardly on his bed.  
And she hoped he'd find all the pieces that fell out of the different boxes when she'd been carrying them. They were all under his bed.

Leo had put together the music. It was a bizarre mixture of skating tunes, his own compositions, a handful of JJ's, and some odd pop music every now and then. Makkachin thought it fit their motley crew of friends well.  
She got to meet a lot more of her Yuuri's friends at the reception. His old coach, who smelt delicious and who sneaked her leftovers from his meal was a new favourite, and the tiny boy with the flicky hair – who had cried tears of joy when he saw how happy Yuuri was – gave good pats. He would make a fine skating pat minion.

JJ hadn't crashed any wedding speech, thankfully. Instead, he turned slowly in the corner of the dancefloor, whispering sweet nothings into Isabella's ear. She had her head resting on his shoulder, her arms tight around him. Whenever the disco lights caught her engagement ring, she smiled.  
Guang-Hong and Leo, too, were slow-dancing on the floor. Without the experience of JJ and Isabella, though, they were stumbling all over the place. Guang-Hong kept trying to take as much of Leo's weight as possible, but he wasn't as strong as he wanted to be, and so they nearly toppled over several times.  
It was adorable.  
(In small doses.)  
Sara and Michele had proved their mettle when the dancing was serious – their compatibility as pair skaters meant they blew most other couples out of the water – but once the party had started to die down, Sara had retreated to the corner to dance in a circle with Mila and Mari. Yuuko sat close to them, but she was laden with two exhausted triplets on her lap. Michele had stood at the side for a while, keeping an eye on his sister from afar, before Emil pulled him outside.  
Through the window (though she'd never tell) Makkachin could still see them. They'd probably had too much to drink. Michele kept stepping on Emil's toes and hanging off him, laughing boisterously when Emil spun him around. Emil was still careful with him, though. Even drunk, he held his arms out to keep Michele safe, and caught him whenever he tripped.  
It would make a fantastic Instagram photo, if only Phichit were around.

He was busy, though.

Out on one of the narrow balconies, Phichit and Seung-Gil stood close to each other. Neither was dancing to the music, though Makkachin was sure their pulses thrummed as loud.  
She watched Seung-Gil hesitate, then determinedly lean forward to catch Phichit's mouth in a careful kiss. She looked away when Phichit wrapped his arms around Seung-Gil.  
Makkachin trotted back through the reception to the corner where Chris and his boyfriend were curled, cooing at each other in German.  
'Hello, beautiful lady.' Chris opened his arms for her. 'You've been a busy girl, haven't you?' He crooned at her, smoothing her fur down her back. She wriggled close to his warmth. Matchmaking was tiring work, and she'd hardly stopped the past five days. 'Good girl.'  
Before she let herself nap, she looked around for her Victor and Yuuri. Victor was sitting on a table, letting Yuuri feed him a bite of cake.  
It just seemed, at that moment, that everything was how it should be.

* * *

And that's a wrap! Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D


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